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Mental Health Actually considering anti-depressants

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DroneLore

Bluelighter
Joined
Jun 8, 2009
Messages
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well i've finally come to a point where i feel like it might be worth trying one of these meds out, since i already do a shitload of drugs anyway and its obvious that not taking anti-depressants isnt working, either. can someone give me some advice or resources to learn about the options? I am already familiar with SSRIs in theory and remain skeptical of them. Maybe there is another class I might want to try?


obviously i will talk to a dr about it, if i decide to go through with this, but i want to be armed with some knowledge in case they just try to throw a script at me without really considering what would work best for me, my mind, and my body.

edit: I took wellbutrin for a few months last year (ostensibly to help me quit smoking--i didn't--but i also mentioned that i was depressed), and I think it helped. maybe i should try to get back on that?
 
^I agree with this. The substances you're on may be worsening the depression. If you take some time off from them, you might be able to have a clearer outlook on life. This would be a safer option rather than introducing another drug in your system and hoping that they inter mingle okay together.

If you do decide to go on anti-depressants, your doctor is going to be the best source to help you with that. A lot of it is trial and error, don't get discouraged if the first med or even the 3rd, 4th, etc doesn't work for you. There are quite a few and there's not really a cut and dry way to tell what will work unless you actually try it. With that said, I would absolutely let your doctor know about your experience with Wellbutrin. If it worked before for you, it could very well work again.
 
Agreed. You can't properly assess your mental state while you're using. Are you actually depressed, or is low / variable mood simply a consequence of the drug use? Don't think you can answer that question accurately. Given that you're changing your brain chemistry with drugs, will further changing your brain chemistry with anti-ds cause more problems than it solves, some SSRI / drug interactions are potentially dangerous, will they simply be unable to counter the effects of the drugs and be completely ineffective, what? Again, who knows? Your doc might, they might not.

I found anti-ds a complete waste of time when I was drinking. I'm what you might call a natural depressive, anti-ds have rarely been especially effective. Just once really when I first tried Prozac twenty years ago being largely drug free at the time. Since then they've not done much. They did absolutely bugger all for me as an alcoholic because the depressant effects of the booze just outweighed any possible benefit there might have been from them in countering that alcohol-induced low mood and a somewhat turbulent mental state.

Try and cut your drug use first, then see where you are mentally and emotionally. If your mood is still low, then see your doc would be my advice.
 
wellbutrin is a good choice. it doesnt have the side effects typical of ssris and seems to improve mood and motivation especially.
and yeah, in order to effectively treat depression you have to take drugs out of the equation
 
What types of drugs do you use? Cutting SOME of them out may be a big help.
Have you tried 5-HTP? Not something you should use daily BUT it is non-prescription so you can use it on days where you feel more depressed than usual. Taking them once a week might even help.

Getting on anti-depressants will probably force you not to use MANY drugs because of dangerous combos. I don't know this for sure, just something to think about. But if you can cut out a few drugs, it may help your depression, and that way you won't have to get rid of everything.

Have you been talking to a therapist at all? I found that my therapist helped me with anxiety. Not solved, but it DID help!
 
I agree with everyone else about what has been said regarding using drugs. You will probably just end up messing your brain chemistry even worse. I know it's tough and stopping drug use or self-medication will most likely make you feel worse short-term, but if you want to fix things long-term, that's the road you should to take in my opinion. As for your original question, there's a plethora of various different drugs used to treat depression of which some are off-label. To arm yourself with better knowledge when discussing options with your doctor, you could start your research from here for example: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antidepressant#Classes_of_antidepressants
 
i'm trying to get back into therapy but its hard because i dont have any money or insurance

my drug use consists mostly of marijuana, opiates, benzos and dissociatives. ive successfully cut out the opiates, except for dope once and sub a few times in the past 9 or so days.
 
SSRIs are just a patch over underlying issues. The same goes for drug use. There are times when medication and drug use can no longer silence internal problems. Get into therapy. If you are unable to afford it now, a cheaper alternative would be to pick up a few books on mindfulness.

Here are some good ones I'm reading (all available online):
The Power of Now - Eckhart Tolle
The Open-Focus Brain - Les Fehmi, PhD
Mindfulness - Mark Williams

Of course if you have exhausted all options including quitting drugs or feel severely depressed/suicidal then SSRIs are an option.
 
Whilst SSRI's and SRNI's are shit in my opinion, keeping me away from anti-depressants for most of my drug career, but now I'm getting clean I've realized a lot of the drugs I was doing were because I felt shit about myself and had no interest in anything, staying in bed for months, didn't even occur to me I may be depressed until I brought it up with my doctor, mentioning my reluctance to go on SSRI's or SRNI's and she said there was an anti-depressant that didn't fall into either of those categories and so didn't act in the same way, meaning it didn't mess your head up or have dangerous interactions with other drugs, giving you none of the horrible side-effects too, it was called Mirtazapine. I've been on it 3 months now and never felt better, as not only is it an anti-depressant it helps with anxiety and helps you to sleep. But like other people have said these will just give you time to get your head straight to deal with whatever problems you have, they won't cure you, just give you the lift you need to sort yourself out.
 
Cornishman said:
You should at least try clean living before you take up antidepressants.

It's no good to think of yourself as depressed (or anything for that matter) if you base your opinions on a polluted mind.
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This.
I've heard so many horror stories about SSRIs making the person more depressed and being the trigger for suicide attempts...even as a last resort it shouldn't be considered IMO. You don't want to risk that. It's much healthier to look at the underlying issues rather than trying to cover them up with meds that might make things worse.
If you're absolutely certain you want to though, the one I've heard the least negative feedback about is Celexa. I've also been told never to get on Prozac and Zoloft by people who've been on them, for what it's worth.
 
Pagey said:
This.
I've heard so many horror stories about SSRIs making the person more depressed and being the trigger for suicide attempts...even as a last resort it shouldn't be considered IMO. You don't want to risk that. It's much healthier to look at the underlying issues rather than trying to cover them up with meds that might make things worse.
If you're absolutely certain you want to though, the one I've heard the least negative feedback about is Celexa. I've also been told never to get on Prozac and Zoloft by people who've been on them, for what it's worth.
Click to expand...

Actually Celexa (Citalopram) was one of the worst anti-depressants I tried, nothing but side-effects. I understand it effects everyone differently, but it is still an SSRI, which is what he's trying to avoid I think. So I'll repeat again Mirtazapine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirtazapine is not an SSRI or SRNI, so please if you decide you need some medication to help you get started on sorting your life out at least give this a try. I only go on about it as I was as skeptical about anti-depressants as everyone else seems to be, but not only does it not have bad side-effects, it gives you extra beneficial effects such as, anxiolytic, hypnotic, antiemetic, and appetite stimulant. But like everyone has said make the decision on what to do on a clear head and good luck!
 
I think people sharing their anecdotal information about ADs is really useful, but it is just that and I do worry that making sweeping statements about, for example SSRIs being bad may discourage some people from investigating ADs as an option with a doctor.

I couldn't find an SSRI that didn't cause really unpleasant side effects, Mitazapine made derealisation significantly worse. In the end I went on Venlafaxine which stabilised my mental state albeit with some side effects.

IMHO ADs can be useful when you are in or approaching crisis but you should not consider them as a cure , when you break a leg and they put it in paster you would not consider that healed. How long it takes to get that plaster off and get on your feet again isnt important, just that you are working towards it.
 
atm23 said:
Mitazapine made derealisation significantly worse. In the end I went on Venlafaxine which stabilised my mental state albeit with some side effects.
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Is derealisation a side-effect for people who haven't had problems with that before, or can it just increase it in someone who already has it? I don't want to start feeling like that, so I hope it's not a common side-effect. The only problem I've had from it is weight gain, but that's to be expected with the increased appetite. Also at 30mg I experienced extreme fatigue, but dropping back down to 15mg cured that.
I also completely agree with your analogy about anti-depressants and putting plaster on a broken leg. Like I said in an earlier post, they can get your head clearer so you can work through the problems you have, but by no way are they a cure, just like methadone isn't a cure for heroin addiction. It just helps ease a lot of the smaller problems so you can work through the bigger ones.
 
I Know tons of people that have received tons of benefits form anti-depressants; I myself as one of them..

Nothing is worse than contempt prior to investigation or experience...

Obviously they are not a cure but they will help you cope better so you can face and solve issues in your life..

I would not recommend anti-d's unless you have tried other options first; but they do and can help millions
 
Chris84 said:
Is derealisation a side-effect for people who haven't had problems with that before, or can it just increase it in someone who already has it? I don't want to start feeling like that, so I hope it's not a common side-effect. The only problem I've had from it is weight gain, but that's to be expected with the increased appetite. Also at 30mg I experienced extreme fatigue, but dropping back down to 15mg cured that.
I also completely agree with your analogy about anti-depressants and putting plaster on a broken leg. Like I said in an earlier post, they can get your head clearer so you can work through the problems you have, but by no way are they a cure, just like methadone isn't a cure for heroin addiction. It just helps ease a lot of the smaller problems so you can work through the bigger ones.
Click to expand...

I didn't intend to seem like I was finger pointing, I just wanted to add some balance to the conversation. I'm neither pro nor anti ADs it's both a medical and individual choice and it's great that we can discuss our experiences here.

I was already suffering some derealisation although at the time of taking the Mirtazapine I was getting better, I had felt almost totally disconnected from reality / others and things had gotten a little weird at some stage. The Mirtazapine made me feel like I was on the edge of hallucinating ( not sure what analogy I can draw in this part of BL so I'll leave it at that) everything had a glassy quality and I found it quite disconcerting TBH, it wasn't in itself unpleasant or problematic.

IME the worst side effects of ADs are over in the first month, longer term ones like sexual dis-function can be dealt with in a more measured manner.

Glad to hear you got on so well with the stuff, my doctor had high hopes as I suffer insomnia as well, does it help you sleep ?
 
Here's something else to consider, too - the fact that you already use so many drugs would not only interfere with the potential medication's mechanism of action (and thus, its ability to help you at all!) but these drugs may also be contraindicated, even dangerous/potentially fatal, when combined with drugs that mediate the serotonergic, dopaminergic and norepinephrine neurological ecosystems. You have got to consider whether or not playing with your own life is worth an attempt to enhance it, and I think that this further bolsters the case for trying to live life on life's terms without the easy coping mechanisms we have all, at one point or another, found in drug use.

For me, at least, the process of mental recovery from depression, anxiety, HPPD and utter anhedonia/hoplessness couldn't even begin to be realized until I had removed from my system all of the illicit chemicals, along with alcohol, that I had been consuming for so long in order to cope. I spent many years (over a decade) as a polysubstance abuser co-administering, under a doctor's supervision but without the psychiatrist's knowledge of my illicit drug use, psychiatric medications the whole way. None of them helped me in the least.

Since then, I have found that sobriety, coupled with a solid diet (fish, vegetables, fruits, some meat, little sugar), sound sleep, supplementation with 5-HTP, Vitamin D3, L-Theanine and positive social interactions have lead to more fruitful a life than that which I could possibly have contrived during the depths of my using drugs and being chronically depressed. It really is astonishing to me, the difference that these measures made when drastic chemical steps gave me no progress whatsoever.

The bottom line is this, though: while there may be no harm in trying psychiatric medications to help cope with psychiatric illness, there is a very likely chance of some harm (physical or psychological) in combining these medications with the lifestyle you currently lead. These precautions are real, and so is your life. Cherish it, please <3

Best of luck,

~ Vaya
 
I have have had severe episodic depression since I was twelve years old. I found Effexor to be very helpful. Wellbutrin worked well as a add on medication to SSRIs or SNRIs I've taken. It lowers the sexual side effects that can sometimes occur while taking ADs also. In fact, I was able to have multiple orgasms for the first time while on Wellbutrin (I loved that drug!). Unfortunately, I can no longer take Wellbutrin because of a medical condition I have. However, even though ADs have helped me and many others I know, I would try to quit drugs before trying them. If you do and find that you still need help then don't be afraid to seek it out. If you can't quit using before going on an AD make sure you check for any possible drug interactions that can occur between your AD and whatever recreational drug you use. Good luck!
 
benzos' can make you depressed if you are taking them all the time...

i find diazepam causes near instant depression for me
 
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